The Impossible Time Lord?

[TheWanderer]

As mentioned in my (only) thread on this board; I have an unconventional history with RPGs. I am recently getting back into RPing after a long hiatus (life got busy) and I decided to run the Vortex System instead of my childhood home-brew concoction. To that end, I decided to make my childhood Time Lord an authentic, Vortex System Character Sheet! Using the 50th anniversary rule book (the only source I own) and the pre-made 11th Doctor character sheet as a guide/comparison, I quickly realized that unless I missed something, the 11th Doctor's character sheet is impossible! His attributes are too high and he has too many good traits to be explained by the half-dozen(ish) negative traits he possesses. I ended up confusing myself and shelving the character creation process for another day (which I really should no do because I work 60 hours a week and do not know when I will next have time).

So I decided to turn here, the most active DWAITAS board I know of, to ask for help. Is The 11th Doctor's pre-made sheet impossible? If not, how does one go about making a character? My biggest frustration was flipping back and forth through the book for every step. lol

I am sure it will get easier with time and practice but I was a little frustrated and confused by The OP nature of the 11th Doctor. Any and all help will be appreciated. Thanks.

[misterharry]

The character stats for the Doctors and companions in the various sourcebooks aren't created using the rules for a starting character - they're built to match what we see them do on the screen and, in general, they're more powerful than a starting character. So using the official 11th Doctor stats as a basis for guidance on creating your own Time Lord using he rules isn't going to work. You need to look at the character creation rules alone and resign yourself to the fact that a Time Lord you create by that route isn't going to match up to the Doctor!

Alternatively, create the Time Lord as you envisage them but recognise they're not a starting character.

[Stormcrow]

What misterharry said. Don't over-apply the rules: character and skill points are only for new starting player characters, not for describing existing characters, and not for NPCs. Don't treat the rules as the list of everything the character can do; use them to figure out what a character gets to roll when they try something. Not every aspect of a character will rise to the level of needing to be present on the character sheet.

[TheWanderer]

Jul 18, 2021 19:30:28 GMT misterharry said:

The character stats for the Doctors and companions in the various sourcebooks aren't created using the rules for a starting character - they're built to match what we see them do on the screen and, in general, they're more powerful than a starting character. So using the official 11th Doctor stats as a basis for guidance on creating your own Time Lord using he rules isn't going to work. You need to look at the character creation rules alone and resign yourself to the fact that a Time Lord you create by that route isn't going to match up to the Doctor!

Alternatively, create the Time Lord as you envisage them but recognise they're not a starting character.

My Time Lord PC was, when I left him, on his 7th incarnation. I realized that in order to have "Time Lord (Experienced x6)" would cost a LOT of CP and make him pretty weak attributes and/or trait-wise. After re-reading the rules since I posted, I realized that if my PC had organically "lived" until that point, the GM may have awarded him stats that are not reflected in initial character creation through completion of various adventures and "quests."

...so I did what I saw was obviously done with the Doctor (and you confirmed); I gave him stats that fit what he has done before and point costs be darned. Like the Doctor, his atributes/traits (good and bad) reflect his history. As new companions/characters come up and start out, I will use the Rules As Written to create them. I almost want to start a Time Lord from scratch and see how he/she organically develops over a long campaign...

Stormcrow Avatar
Jul 18, 2021 16:34:50 GMT -4 Stormcrow said:
What misterharry said. Don't over-apply the rules: character and skill points are only for new starting player characters, not for describing existing characters, and not for NPCs. Don't treat the rules as the list of everything the character can do; use them to figure out what a character gets to roll when they try something. Not every aspect of a character will rise to the level of needing to be present on the character sheet.

Oh, I am familiar with the limitations of character sheets and how to properly use them. I just thought you could create a character that was a "seasoned adventurer" using the rules. Re-reading them, I see that is not practical. Still, the rules are flexible enough to allow a degree of handwavium to make compelling characters that are experienced but not OP.